Día de los Muertos on Screen: Traditional Music, Permission and Respect

Día de los Muertos is observed on November 1 and 2. According to NBC Washington's explainer, the returning dead are offered their favorite meals and drinks and are celebrated with songs, dance and rejoicing. Many filmmakers, brands and creators make something for the holiday each year, and music is usually part of the plan.

This guide covers the rights and respect questions that come up when that music is traditional or tied to a specific community. It is general information, not legal advice, so check with a professional on a real project.

A tradition held by communities

UNESCO lists the celebration on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the "Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead," inscribed in 2008. The listing is a reminder that this is a living tradition kept by communities, not a stock look or sound. A project that borrows from it should start by asking the people who keep it.

Old is not the same as cleared

A traditional tune may be free while the version you know is not. The Irish rights body IMRO says traditional works are "usually no longer under copyright because the original composer is unknown or has been deceased for more than 70 years," but arrangements "may be protected by copyright if they involve original creative input and are fixed in a tangible form."

A recording is a separate work from the song, and so is a translation of the words. Film Independent's workshop report notes that a composition may be free while "the specific performance of a piece of classical music is, in fact, copyrightable." The U.S. Copyright Office lists arrangements and translations as derivative works, and says a derivative work's copyright "covers only the additions, changes, or other new material." On a screen project, one traditional song can involve an arranger, a translator and the performers on the recording, each with something to clear.

Terms also differ by country. Article 29 of Mexico's federal copyright law runs an author's economic rights for the author's life plus 100 years, which is longer than the 70 years after death IMRO describes for Ireland. A song can be free to use in one country and still protected in another, which matters for anything shown, sold or streamed across borders.

Mexican law adds a layer for traditional expressions

Mexico's copyright law also has a chapter on popular cultures and traditional cultural expressions, amended in January 2020. Article 157 covers works from those cultures that carry the identity of the peoples and communities recognized in Mexico's Constitution, and recognizes those peoples and communities as the rights holders. Article 158 protects such works against use without the holder's written permission, and against distortion that harms the community's reputation or image. Article 154 says this protection applies even when no individual author can be named or the usual term of protection has run out.

Where it is unclear which community to ask, and the use is for profit, Article 160 sends the user to the Ministry of Culture for a consultation, with the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples as technical body. A 2020 note from the Mexican law firm Basham Ringe lists cinematographic and audiovisual works, videos and publicity campaigns among the uses the amendments cover. It says written consent must be requested from the community that holds the work, and adds, "There may be a remuneration to the community." How all this applies to a project made elsewhere is a question for a lawyer who knows both countries.

What one large production did

NPR's Mandalit del Barco reported that for Pixar's Coco, DJ and producer Camilo Lara served as music consultant and helped gather musicians for the scoring sessions in Mexico City. "They are like the crème de la crème from Mexico," he said. Cultural consultants joined the screenings too. "We'd go to screenings, we'd talk about the dialogue, give suggestions," said consultant Lalo Alcaraz. Co-director Lee Unkrich said, "We hope that our audience and those communities feel like we got it right."

You do not need a studio's resources to borrow the idea. Ask people from the tradition early, hire musicians who play it, and credit them by name.

A short checklist for a screen project

• Name the exact song, version and arrangement you want.
• Find out who wrote it, when, and whether it is protected in every country where your project will be seen.
• Treat the recording separately. License it, or record a new one with musicians you hire and credit.
• Check who owns any arrangement or translation you plan to use.
• If the music belongs to a specific community, ask the community and get permission in writing.
• Send lyrics and an English translation. Horus Music's sync guide on Hypebot advises, "If your song is in a foreign language, include an English translation."
• Give the production the writers, performers and publishers so the cue sheet is right.

If you are writing something new

An original song about remembrance, family or memory can serve a project like this without borrowing anyone's heritage. If you write in another language, work with a fluent speaker, keep your splits and documents in order, and provide a translation. Hypebot's guide notes that sync briefs sometimes ask for specific lyrical themes, and that a translation lets supervisors "fully understand the content and match it to the right project." Our guide to what music supervisors expect lists the files and data to have ready.

Where Starchild fits

Every Starchild license comes with a certificate naming the writers, and starchild.music/verify can check it. Songs can be heard in different styles and voices before licensing, so you can hear how a song's feel changes before you commit. For a film, series or ad, the sync licensing page is the place to start, and adaptive sync licensing for film, TV, games and ads launches in fall 2026.

Sources

• UNESCO: Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead
• NBC Washington: What is Day of the Dead?
• IMRO: How does copyright apply to traditional music?
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 14, Copyright in Derivative Works and Compilations
• Film Independent: Legal Ease, Navigating the Ins and Outs of Music Licensing
• Cámara de Diputados of Mexico: Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor, official text
• Basham Ringe: Amendments to the Copyright Law in Mexico About the Use of Traditional Cultural Expressions
• NPR via Texas Public Radio: Mexico, Music And Family Take Center Stage In Coco
• Hypebot (Horus Music): How to Prepare Music for Sync Licensing Success